Member postings for Maurice

If it was traction engine boiler, then there would be no dome flange where the cylinder block sits, and the the firebox sides would be the same width as the boiler barrel.

Before you condemn Camp coffee, try some in a large glass of cold milk. It's delicious! First tried it at a Knoll Hill traction engine rally. It was baking hot that day, and a glass of that from a vendor was just what I needed.

Maurice

Myford has come out as "my food" in my last post! Weird!

I recall "LBSC" picturing a my food with raising blocks, in one of his articles in ME. I enquirer about the availability on them with Myford. They said it was a one off for a racing team, and that they were not generally on sale.

If the Loctite is used correctly, you really don't need to pin it as well. It is very difficult to break a joint once it has cured. It takes far more force to move, even with heating, than the shaft will ever undergo when your engine is running.

This thread reminds me of an idea I heard of many years ago. At the time I did some work for Mamod when they were based in Slough. The chap in charge of the model workshop was toying with the idea of "firing" the stationary engines electrically, using Diesel engine warming plugs as heating elements! I don't know if he ever tried it.

With reference to the hinge pins that Howard mentioned, another way to thwart the removal of the hinge pins, or indeed the hinges themselves, my shed has three hinges, and in line with each is a stout plate that overlaps the doorframe when the door is closed so that the door will not come out of the frame.

I always make the seating separately from the body, and screw it into position. The hole I drill and ream, then machine the top surface to a shallow cone (volcano shaped) which seems to help keep it free from dirt. After screwing the seat into the body, which is threaded right through, I fit the ball and press it lightly into the seat with a threaded plug. This seems to make a better seating than tapping with a hammer. It is better to use a temporary hardened steel ball to press into the seat, rather than the actual ball that you intend to use, as pressing or tapping the ball may damage it. I read of this method in M.E. Many years ago, and it works for me.

Maurice

I recall one gentleman ,many years ago, who claimed to have made chequer plate by varnishing and painting

Askey's ice cream wafers!!

Maurice

Thanks for that gents. I have step brazen like this in the past, but was not sure if the effect was real, or if I'd just been lucky. Nice to know for sure.

Maurice

I recently made a mistake while fabricating an item from copper, using silver solder (Easiflo No 2) and had to remove the offending part. Does the melting point of silver solder rise after it has been melted once, as I had the devil's own job getting it apart, or is it just my imagination?

Hi Les. When I built my ME beam engine, it had a bowed bed plate. It was iron. I was able to use it as it was, but you could see the thinning of the flange in the centre. I have joined this thread as you mention the missing gear. When I made my engine, I found that using gears of the size specified, there was insufficient clearance between the lay shaft and cotter remaining the big end. I overcame this by increasing the tooth count by five on each gear.

Maurice

I think there must be more than one version of S7 countershaft. Mine is parallel its enter length; no steps at all.

Maurice.

Hi Jan; I recently had to rebuild my S7 countershaft as the Oilite bushes were badly worn. My countershaft has a fibre washer, about 1 -2 mm thick, between the pulley and the casting. It shows little sign of wear even after many years of use, so it must be OK.

Maurice

Earlier in this post, mention was made of cadmium being a hazard. When the G.P.O. as it was then, still used open (i.e. uninsulated) wire on their poles, they used cadmium copper as it was stronger. We were never given any safety warning about it. I wonder just how hazardous it was?

Maurice

Regarding the hardening part of the process; I read in the M.E. Years ago that when the material is held at red heat for long enough, then the material will no longer be attracted by a magnet. It seems to work.

Maurice.

Hi Rod. Some time ago, I read a book called “British smooth bore artillery “. It is a large format book, with many drawings of carriages and barrels. See if you local library can get hold of a copy. It may help you.

Maurice.

Thanks for the advice gents. I can now proceed with confidence. The forum comes to the rescue again.

Maurice

I wish to fit a lubricator to the steam pipe of a small oscillating engine, of the type found on some commercial engines. It will have a filler and a drain plug, but no regulation of the oil flow. How large a hole does it need from the oil tank to the steam pipe please? Probably smaller than I think! Thanks.

Maurice

As your S7 is an older one, when you adjust the gib strip for the saddle, adjust the screw on the extreme right last! On the early version with the guiding done by the front bed way, there is nothing on the other side of the bed opposite the adjusting screw, and you can push the saddle out of alignment if you happen to do the right hand end first. Ask me how I know!!

Maurice